High Court In Belfast Bombed By Ira

October 24, 1987|United Press International

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Irish Republican Army gunmen burst into the grounds of Northern Ireland`s heavily guarded high court on Friday and set off a bomb, plunging the area into chaos but causing no injuries.

Police said the two IRA gunmen warned the bomb would go off in 10 minutes but it exploded, wrecking a security hut while the courthouse was still being cleared, police said.

No injuries were reported but several security men were badly shaken, authorities said.

The Royal Courts of Justice try the province`s most series cases, including those of hundreds of IRA suspects over the past 18 years. It is one of the most heavily guarded premises in Northern Ireland and has been attacked in the past by the IRA.

Responsibility was claimed in a call to a local radio station by the IRA, which has fought for the past 18 years to end British rule in the mostly Protestant province so it can be united with the Roman Catholic Irish Republic.